Mixed feelings as Fr Columba goes back to his people

Brisbane Archdiocese’s Pauline Father Columba Macbeth-Green had several reasons for total surprise on learning he’d been named Wilcannia-Forbes diocese’s seventh bishop, reports The Catholic Leader.

Firstly, the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit (OSPPE) to which he belongs 'has only one bishop in the whole world'.

'The order is normally out of the limelight, so becoming a bishop was the last thing I would ever have expected,' he said. 'And there’s also the fact that usually a bishop will have some sort of administration experience … be dean of a cathedral or whatever.'

Fr Macbeth-Green received news of his posting with a mixture of excitement and sadness. The excitement came from his return to his hometown Forbes where mother, Lorna, still lives.